Guardian

by Xrevias

Chapter 2 - Recovery

“Goldie, Goldie, wakey, wakey!”

Golden Dusk groaned into his pillow. He turned over on his bed and looked to the side where the voice came from. Groggily, he opened his eyes, and he saw a scarlet-colored necklace dangling in front of the form of a tan pegasus standing to the side of his ever soft bed.

“Gem?” he mumbled as he opened his eyes wider. He pulled his blanket closer to him but winced at the pain he felt when he moved his foreleg.

“Good morning, sleepy head!” Scarlet greeted with a smile. “Who knew you’d lock yourself in here for two days straight,” she mused.

Dusk processed that for a moment. “Two days?!” He suddenly got up on the bed but immediately yelped in pain. Scarlet rushed to hold him still with both of her forelegs.

“Yeah, you’ve been what was basically a rock.” She helped ease him into a sitting position. “Take it easy, okay? Your body’s still recovering.”

Dusk nodded and stretched his hind legs that were now dangling at the side of his bed. “Ah, this’ll be a pain…”

“Don’t even think about using your magic to boost yourself." She held him gently. "It’ll hinder your recovery,” She chided.

He sighed. “I won’t.”

He, with the help of Scarlet, got up from his bed and stood on all fours. He winced slightly when his last hoof rested on the ground. Dusk attempted to walk but had a limp with each step he took. Scarlet looked at him with sympathy. She walked up to his side and nudged him slightly with her wing.

“Here, lean on me,” she said softly.

Dusk leaned closer to Scarlet as she guided him out his room and down the stairs. Each step he took going down was a difficult task and was extremely uncomfortable. Gem stayed by his side and even used a wing to help balance him as they went down. Once in the hallway with two large arches on its sides, Dusk gestured to the left and they turned for the kitchen. His horn glowed and one off his cupboard’s doors opened. A box of oatmeal floated over to him and he scrutinized it. He rotated the box until he found the side he was looking for.

To his dismay, it was expired.

Dusk sighed and put the box back where it came from. He hadn’t even noticed that Scarlet had left his side until she walked back to him with a glass of water in her wings.

“You’re probably really thirsty,” she said as she brought the glass closer to him.

Dusk smacked his lips together. “True,” he mused. He took it in his magic and chugged it down with vigor. Scarlet giggled at the sight.

He let out a content sigh once he’d finished his drink. He levitated the cup to the sink to be cleaned later. With a gold flash, a small bag popped into existence in front of him. Scarlet raised a brow, but then recognized the jingles coming from the bag as bits. Dusk opened it slightly and eyed it for a few moments before nodding and placing it into the pocket of his hoodie.

One that probably hasn’t been cleaned in two months.

“Uh, when was the last time you cleaned that?” Scarlet asked nervously.

“The bag?”

“Yes, the bag of bits and not the only piece of clothing you’re wearing,” she snarked.

Dusk glanced at his hoodie before laughing. “Why? Y’scared I got some badlands residue on you?”

“No?” she said unconvincingly.

He shook his head and smiled. “It can’t get dirty. Ever. It’s enchanted, remember?” he stood proudly to showcase his enchanted piece of apparel.

Her mouth formed an ‘O’ as she remembered. “Right, I forgot about that,” she nodded. “What do you need the bits for though?”

“Ah, right. I have no food to eat in here, so I might as well grab breakfast someplace else,” he explained.

Scarlet hummed thoughtfully. “Can I come?” she asked. “I haven’t eaten either.”

“Sure, you got your own bits though?” He raised a brow.

“I carry a fair amount of bits on me wherever I go, thank you very much,” she huffed before she smirked at him. “Or, would you rather treat this mare to a fine meal?” She teased.

“I was planning to go to a Donut Joe’s, so no ‘fine meals.’” he snorted. Scarlet just stared at him.

“Joe’s? Really?” she deadpanned.

“What? His stuff’s good!”

“Yeah, I got that! But seriously, I—”

“I’ll treat you if you stop complaining.”

“Deal!” she chippered. Her eyes sparkled as she got up to leave. Her wings fluttered slightly as she walked.

Dusk winced slightly as he took his first step out the door, but didn’t complain either way. He closed the door and locked it with his key which he hid once more in the bushes. Scarlet was already on the sidewalk, waiting expectantly.

The two then went on their journey for food!

“Say, where’re you working right now?” Dusk inquired. “I know that Maestro’s still part of the orchestra.” Heh, the Maestro works at an orchestra.

“I… um…” Scarlet didn’t know what to say. “I don’t have one,” she admitted.

Dusk stared at her for a moment but still kept up with her. “What?”

“I have no job.” She sighed. “I… don’t really know what to do.”

“Didn’t you used to be a chef?”

“Yeah, I worked for one of the fancier restaurants.” The two made a left turn and she scowled slightly. “Their new manager didn’t want a pegasi in their kitchen…”

Dusk scowled slightly as well. “One of the unicorn superiorists?”

“No,” she snarked, “I didn’t get fired for being a pegasus after all.” Her wings twitched dangerously.

He sighed. “Sorry, stupid question. Won’t you try for another one though?”

“I’ve applied for a few,” she nodded. “They haven’t gotten back to me yet.” Probably because they don’t want a pegasus in the kitchen…

“Ah, well just keep trying, yeah?” Dusk encouraged. “Better than lazing around for Celestia knows how many days straight.”

“Look who’s talking.” She gave him a flat stare.

He was about to retort, but was stopped short by the sound of the jingling of a bell. Scarlet had pushed open a door that led straight into Donut Joe’s. Ponies sat on circular tables, chatting away, while Joe was on the counter minding his award-winning pastries. She walked up to the counter with Dusk right behind her, already eyeing the food.

“Welcome to Joe’s!” Donut Joe greeted cheerily. “What can I get ya?”

The two looked at the counter for a moment.

“Strawberry with sprinkles for me please,” Scarlet said.

“I’ll take the Almond Cream, Chocolate Nut, Cookie Sprinkles, and the glazed please!” Dusk chippered. She looked at him in disbelief while Joe was more than happy to take his bits.

“That’ll be thirty bits.” Joe handed them two trays with their orders.

Scarlet shrugged and took hers in her wing. Dusk levitated his with magic while counting the bits in his bag. He left the exact amount on the counter and the two sat down on a corner table.

They settled their trays on the table and Scarlet started to calmly eat her donut. She enjoyed it and at the same time tried to discern what went into creating such a fine pastry.

Golden Dusk on the other hoof… made an extremely accurate impression of a vacuum.

Scarlet swallowed. “Geez, Goldie, calm down,” she chided but he continued to inhale his food. “No one’s taking that from you.”

“I ‘on caw!” He said through a mouthful of food. “Ungwy!”

She rolled her eyes and took another bite of her donut.

Dusk finished his food within a few minutes. He’d gotten up and filled himself a cup of coffee — which was free — and now drank it at a much calmer pace.

“Ah,” he sighed happily, “So, any news since I was gone?” He took another swig.

Scarlet nodded but kept a straight face. “We’ve got… strange activity.”

He leaned forward. “What kind?”

“The dangerous one.” She looked around to make sure no one would overhear them. “We’ve got a new terrorist group on the prowl.”

Dusk managed to keep in the coffee he was about to spit. “What?!” he whispered rather loudly.

Scarlet nodded. “There’s been graffiti put up around the lower parts of Canterlot. Most have been about how the nobility is a ‘plague that must be purified.’” She made air quotas.

He rubbed his temple. “While I can see where they’re coming from… have they done anything yet?”

She shook her head. “So far, just graffiti and propaganda.” She finished her donut. “There have been… interesting texts and letters that came with them too.”

Dusk’s raised a brow.

Scarlet coughed into a hoof. “The nobles have been… mistreating some of their servants.” She sighed.

He frowned. “I’m not that surprised.” He downed his coffee. “Nobles always think they’re all ‘high and mighty.’ Not to mention, they look down on everypony else,” he growled.

Oh? There was a story behind that one. “So anyway, they haven’t done anything major so far. Though, we’ve been told to keep an eye out for them.” Scarlet fixed her mane.

“These guys have a name?”

She laughed slightly. “The Purifiers,” she said.

“Easy enough to remember,” he shrugged. “Have we gotten any new members?”

“If it’s the Guardians, no,” she laughed at her terrible attempt at a joke. “We’ve gotten three new recruits though.”

“Three?” Disbelief was clearly written on his face. “That’s… a surprising number.”

“Yeah, I know,” she nodded. “They are pretty skilled.”

“They get their titles yet?”

Scarlet shook her head. “No, not yet.”

With that, Dusk let out a suppressed, yet audible, burp. The two stared at each other for a moment before giggling. He took their trays in his magic and set them off to the cleaning bin. They shared a moment to let their food — mostly Dusk’s — settle in their stomachs.

Though, they were then approached with a snooty looking unicorn stallion, two others watching them from another table.

“Hey, cutie, wanna go out sometime?” he asked at the table, with a look that Dusk didn’t like.

Unfortunately, Scarlet responded.

“Hm, well aren’t you a flatterer,” she said back at him.

The unicorn scoffed, “Not you, ruffian, her.” He pointed at Golden Dusk

Under normal circumstances, Dusk would’ve been laughing heartily. However, the stallion had just insulted Scarlet. ‘Ruffian’ is one of the derogatory terms that some ponies use on pegasi. He swore he heard something from Scarlet crack, as she wore a dark smile on her face.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Very well, the ruffian may leave,” the stranger nodded.

She stared at him, clearly debating on whether to leave with Dusk, or leave the stallion with a broken leg.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Golden Dusk stood up with two of his forelegs slamming the table. He winced, the pain reminding him of his body's current state.

“I think we should go, don’t you think, Gem?” he feigned a smile.

“Of course, no rest for the weary!” she wore a similar smile as she stood up.

“Oh, don’t be shy!” The unicorn insisted. “Why not leave your friend here and we can… discuss things, yes?”

Dusk couldn’t believe he was going along with being a female. “No thanks, you’re not my type.” With that, he and Scarlet made their way to the door.

Joe was concerned but stayed out of it until he was truly needed.

“Hm, perhaps you could be persuaded?” He levitated a bag of bits in front of her- him.

Dusk smiled and held the bits with one hoof. Scarlet wore a look of worry, thinking that he would actually go with the stranger. Those thoughts were cut short, however, with Dusk dropping the bits on the ground like they weren’t worth anything and scowling at him.

“No thanks. Let’s go, Gem.” The two made their way for the door as the stallion exploded with anger,

“You dare defy me?!” His horn lit up and he encased Dusk with blue magic. “I am of the Astral House!”

Scarlet kept walking forwards, paying no heed to the fact that her friend was floating. She knew he could handle it.

Golden Dusk frowned as he hovered slightly off the ground. With one fluid motion, the levitation spell broke and a sound similar to shattering glass filled the room. The stallion recoiled back as his two other friends caught him. Dusk continued to walk out the door.

“Why you little-” one of his friends started but was cut off with Golden Dusk flashing his fangs and slitted eyes.

“F-freak!” the other stuttered as all three of them backed up.

Dusk chuckled lightly and walked out the door to follow Amethyst.

By the counter, Donut Joe sighed in relief. At least nothing too bad happened. Then, a small gold light flashed under his counter and he found a small bag of bits with a note beside it.

Sorry for the trouble.

• G.D

Joe laughed and stashed away the bits.

“That colt keeps getting into all heaps of trouble.”

~~~

Scarlet Gem and Golden Dusk, now full and in a slightly off mood, made their way to Canterlot Castle.

“Maybe I should join the Purifiers?” Scarlet mused darkly. She stumbled slightly in her step when Dusk hit her lightly with a hoof.

“Please don’t,” he deadpanned.

“I’m kidding!” she cried. “If they really wanted to out the nobles, they could just bring the issue to court.”

Dusk sighed. “Yeah, only to be overturned by all the nobles.”

She sighed as well knowing it was true. There was a second of silence as Scarlet hummed thoughtfully.

“Did you give your mission report yet?” she asked, remembering that she had to do the same thing before.

“No, not yet,” Dusk answered. “Why do you think we’re going to the castle?”

She stared at him for a moment. “We’re headed to the castle?”

Dusk facehooved. “Yes, yes we are.”

“Well this wasn’t how I saw my day going,” Scarlet mused.

“And how exactly did you expect it to go?” Dusk raised a brow.

“Hm, let’s see,” she started, “Wake you up, go out for breakfast, I go home and sulk for a while before bothering Mel for the rest of the day.”

“Sulk?” He asked.

“Ah… the whole job thing y’know?” She looked down on the path. “I… really liked it there...” She whispered. Her gaze was then brought up by Dusk pushing her head up with his muzzle.

“Things happen, and we move on,” he said to her. “You can let the noble’s stigma on pegasi and earth ponies bother you… but don’t let it bring you down. Try harder, fight against it — not violently though — and become a better pony,” he smiled.

Scarlet sniffed lightly. “When did you get all sage-like?” She smirked.

He shrugged. “Comes with experience.”

She knew the meaning behind that and didn’t want to delve deeper. “So, who'll get your report?”

“If Shiny’s still there, him. If not, either of the princesses.” The two made a left turn and avoided a group of nobles. “My armor’s with Aunt Moonie and she’s… going to take a while.”

Scarlet deadpanned, “Upgrades?”

Dusk chuckled and nodded.

“As usual,” she said with a smile. “That’s our Moonie.”

A few moments later, they stood in front of the castle’s gate. They both flashed a royal guard badge of the Celestial Guard to the two guardsponies stationed there. The pair nodded and stepped aside, and the gate creaked open and the two walked in.

The cobblestone path led through what would be considered a front yard. Flowers of different kinds bloomed in the grass, a few trees populated the area as well. The sound of birds chirping got louder whenever they ever got close to a tree’s shade. At the end of the path there was a giant, arching, ornate purple door with two more guards stationed in front of it.

Golden Dusk and Scarlet Gem walked up to them and flashed their badges again. The guards stepped aside as the doors opened. They walked inside and were greeted with the sight of the giant hallways, carpeted floor, and guards stationed everywhere they would walk. Maids and butlers were busy, doing whatever was assigned to them.

Dusk led the way through the halls, and eventually, they reached the back of the castle where the training field was.

By one side of the field, there were three buildings with different flags hanging from them. One had a moon, another a sun, and the last one had the Equestrian flag. Each building housed the different guard sectors. The Lunar Guard, the Celestial Guard, and the Harmony Guard respectively. The Harmony Guard were composed mostly of commanding officers from the other two and they work together to unite the two very different groups.

Out on the field, guards were running laps and were led by Shining Armor. Even though he was a prince, he still was a member of the Harmony Guard and is one of the captains. Dusk and Scarlet walked up to him without alerting the captain.

“Hey, Shiny!” the two greeted loudly.

Shining Armor jumped slightly and turned around. “I’m in the middle of something,” he deadpanned.

Scarlet giggled. “How are they?” She pointed to the guards running the field.

“I don’t know who trained them, but they need a lot of work,” he groaned “They’re on their tenth lap and are already showing signs of exhaustion.”

“Recruits or actual guards?” Dusk inquired.

“Actual guards,” Shining answered.

The Specialists and the Captain sighed. Who exactly was training them?

“Well, sparring is up next,” Shining smirked. “Care to show them how it’s done?”

Scarlet raised a brow. “Won’t we reveal ourselves?” Mel wouldn’t be happy…

“I can cast an illusion spell,” Dusk offered. “Auntie taught me before."

She sighed and nodded. “Oh, but you’ll have to take Dusk’s report after.” She looked at the white unicorn.

“Deal!” he chippered. “Now we can show them how much they’re lacking.”

The white unicorn wore a smirk that had way too many teeth. He took a few steps forward, placing himself slightly in front of the other two.

“Is it just me or is Shining getting all sadistic on us?” Dusk asked flatly.

“Eh, aren’t all the captains like that?” she answered back.

“Point.”

“Get ready you two!” Shining Armor said cheerily.

Dusk stared at him for a moment. “Yep, I feel bad now.”

His horn glowed as he casted the illusion spell. Small lines of gold magic floated over to Scarlet as she transformed into a baby blue coated, and pink maned pegasus. Dusk’s magic flowed over himself as he turned into a light-green coated, and blue maned unicorn.

“Fall in line!” Shining bellowed with Dusk and Scarlet standing beside him.

The guards quickly formed one straight line in front of the trio. Each one had already recovered after a small break from the run. Their gold armor shined in the light of the sun.

“You know what comes next?” he asked loudly.

The guards gulped.

“Sparring!” he shouted.

The ponies in front of him clearly wanted out.

“These two ponies with me will spar with one of you.” He gestured to the two beside him.

The group of guards gazed at Scarlet and Dusk. Some of them wore looks of disbelief, and concern. However, there were a few who stood arrogantly, clearly thinking it would be easy.

“Permission to speak freely, sir!” one guard requested.

“Granted.”

“Aren’t they civvies?”

Another one snickered, “Well since they are I’ll take one on then!” The one that spoke stood forward and was a unicorn. “I’ll spar with the unicorn!” he declared.

Dusk was about to step forward but winced. He took a step back and Shining Armor noticed. Scarlet walked to his side and stopped him from entering the fight.

“Sorry, my friend here isn’t actually feeling very well,” she said. “I’ll take you on in his place.”

Shining Armor held Dusk back as well. “Sorry, I forgot you just got back,” he whispered.

Dusk nodded but sighed. He was slightly disappointed.

The unicorn guard snorted. “Please, you won’t even be a challenge.” He flicked his head up to flex his horn.

Scarlet smirked. “You scared to get shown up by a mare?” she tried to vex him. The mare guards in the line shared the same facial expression.

It worked.

“Alright fine!” the guard huffed. “I’ll take you on!”

Shining Armor sighed, hopefully she wouldn’t beat him up too badly. “Alright guards, circle ‘em!”

With that order, all the guards circled the unicorn and Scarlet, effectively forming a ring. Dusk stood beside Shining Armor.

“Ready!” Shining shouted.

The unicorn guard took a spell-casting offensive stance. “The name’s Swift Star, it’ll be the last thing you’ll remember from this.”

Scarlet smiled. “You can call me… Scar.” She flared her wings. “You’ll have one by the end of this.”

“Fight!” Shining bellowed, and blew a whistle.

Immediately after the signal, Swift fired off beams of magic at Scarlet. She dodged them nimbly, the magic blasts impacting a shield Shining had put up around them. Swift Star growled and charged forward. His horn threatened to pierce right through Scarlet.

She took to the skies in a flash. His response was to fire more spells in Scarlet’s direction. She hovered in the air while dodging the magic with a bored look on her face. This proved to aggravate Swift even more.

“Hey, you gonna hit me or what?!” She shouted at him.

Swift yelled as he planted his hooves firmly into the ground. His horn glowed brightly as he prepared the most powerful spell he had. Scarlet watched in anticipation, hopefully it would be worth her while.

“Take this!” he called out.

His horn fired out a Star-shaped beam about the size of two ponies standing on top of each other. It flew towards Scarlet who sighed. She dove under the attack as it impacted the captain’s shield. She was back on the ground when white flashed behind her.

“Gotcha,” Swift smirked with his horn aglow.

Scarlet turned around while using her left wing to strike Swift. He blocked it with two hooves, leaving his chest wide open. She was now facing him, and used her left hoof to punch him right at his chest plate. He groaned in pain as he held his chest and stepped back. Scarlet then proceeded to jump off the ground and fly right by him.

She stopped on the opposite end of the field, with her left wing extended and her right folded. The guards forming the ring wondered what happened, and were answered by Swift’s face bleeding from a small cut to his cheek. The pain from his chest plate being dented then finally made him collapse onto the grass. The crowd gasped in surprise while Dusk smirked.

Shining lowered the barrier. “Scar wins!”

Swift Star groaned as he stood up. “Impossible! She cheated!” He got through ragged breaths.

“No she didn’t,” Dusk defended her. “It was due to your own incompetence that you were bested.”

“Incompetent?!” he bellowed. “I used the most powerful spell you’ll ever see, and you call me incompetent!”

“Yes!” Dusk hissed, the ponies around him sans Scarlet and Shining stared in shock. “You used your most powerful spell without anyone to fall back to! What if you had drained your magic and fainted and your enemy survived? You’d be dead! Not to mention your complete lack of CQC skills!”

Shining Armor nodded. “He's right, Swift Star. It just goes to show your carelessness which grew from your pride.”

Swift Star boiled with anger. “I doubt he would’ve done any better!” He pointed at Dusk. “After all, he was the one who chickened out!”

Dusk laughed. “Oh trust me if I was in peak condition…” His horn glowed as he fired off a spell that brought down a bolt of magic onto the ground leaving a... sizeable crater. “You’d be in a much worse position right now.”

Swift Star stared in shock, as did his fellow guards.

“Remember our deal, Shiny,” Dusk sang out as the two, still disguised ponies, walked back into the castle.

Shining Armor sighed; he hated taking reports.

The guards in front of him still stood still before one spoke up. “S-sir, why are they not in the guard?”

Their captain laughed heartily. “They are,” he said.

“B-but… we haven’t seen them-”

“They’re Specialists.”

The mention of that one word caused the guards to tense again. Specialists?! No wonder why Scar was so powerful...

“More specifically, the Hunter and Valkyrie.”

The guards felt faint at this point. They were Guardians?!

Swift Star snapped out of his daze. “Then I can just reveal who she was for revenge!” He declared too loudly.

“Strike one, Swift Star.” Shining Armor glared. “And they aren’t careless when it comes to their true identities. They were in disguise.”

The ponies under his command started to silently pray that Swift Star’s actions wouldn’t reflect on them.

“Alright, next fight is…”

~~~

“I knew I shouldn’t have used that spell…” Dusk complained as they walked the halls of the castle.

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Just recharge you big baby.”

He stuck his tongue out at her and stopped walking; he didn’t want anypony to see this. Once he was sure that nopony else aside from Scarlet would see him, his horn and eyes started to glow a gold color. Suddenly, specks of glittering white appeared around them. Each one sparkled while floating in the air. One by one, the specks flowed towards Dusk’s horn and shifted to a gold color to much his aura. His appendage absorbed each one and he started to feel his magic recover.

“That is still as cool as ever,” Scarlet commented idly.

Dusk smiled before the specks of magic disappeared and his eyes and horn stopped glowing.

“Ah, that’s better.” He stretched a hindleg before recoiling. “Doesn’t help with that though,” he muttered.

She laughed. “C’mon let’s get to the briefing room, Shining will be there later,” she said as they started to walk again. Dusk sighed and followed suit.

After a few twists and turns, they were in the west wing of the castle and in a room with a few other ponies with them. They sat by a row of chairs along the wall and waited for the oh so revered captain to arrive.

Speaking of captains, Shining Armor is the captain of the Celestial Guard and the Specialists, if they so choose, form teams with one of them being their captain. Emerald Melody, the Maestro, is the captain of her team the Guardians.

And lo and behold, who would walk into the room an hour later with a look of indignation on his face.

“Captain!” Dusk and Scarlet called out as a gold, translucent checker board disappeared.

Shining Armor turned his head irritably at them. “Report, yes? In the room,” he said as he entered another room.

The two looked at each other before shrugging. Must’ve been a bad day in training.

They followed Shining Armor into another room with a small round table in the center. The three sat down and the captain begrudgingly pulled out a set of papers and an inkwell and quill. He tapped on a recorder and it gave a low beep.

“Mission Report. Identification,” he said in a flat tone.

“Specialist Golden Dusk, ‘Hunter,’ serial number RGS658.”

Shining Armor nodded and looked to Scarlet. “Witness, identification.”

“Specialist Scarlet Gem, ‘Valkyrie,’ serial number RGS657,” she replied.

The captain turned back to Golden Dusk. “Mission details?”

Dusk nodded. “Reports of ponies going missing by the South Luna Ocean Resort had been going around for a few weeks,” he explained.

“Princess Celestia sent me to investigate and find any leads. I packed my armor as well just to be sure. At first, the suspicion was changelings but then they would have replaced the ponies they’ve taken.”

He leaned forwards so the recorder’s mic could hear him better.

“However, I found Klugetowners who were breaking into a pony’s hotel room through the window. I averted them from the pony napping and received information that they’d been taking ponies for months.”

Scarlet and Shining’s eyes went wide. How dare they!

Dusk sighed. “All of that led me to requesting guards to be stationed there until further notice. I followed the lead and went into Klugetown. I used the alleyways and rooftops to remain unseen. There were some ponies in cages and Klugetowners treating them like nothing more than… merchandise.” he growled, and the other two ponies with them suppressed theirs.

“I broke out a few ponies and we created a mock-safe house in an abandoned windmill. I told them to stay there, and I brought them ample supplies of water and food. My goal was to get all the ponies I could away from that place.” He said.

“However, complications arose. Klugetowners discovered our safe house and I had to ward them off. We had to make another one in a different spot, and I created a few more just in case,” he added. “Once I’d gotten all the ponies I could find, I secured an airship which was what we arrived in… three days ago?” He looked to Scarlet with a tilt of his head.

She nodded with an amused smile on her face.

“The pony count was a little over a dozen.”

Shining Armor looked at him with a raised brow, to which Dusk nodded.

“Mission report, end.” Shining Armor sighed in relief. Now all he had to do was… paperwork.

Shining groaned and planted his head on the table. Dusk and Scarlet laughed.

“Okay, Dusk, you can rest. Scarlet, I’ll need your witness report.” Shining Armor floated a paper and a quill to her.

She immediately stopped laughing.

Dusk giggled as he got up. His body wasn’t aching as much now. “I’ll leave you two to it?” he asked the two.

“Yeah, we got this,” Scarlet replied.

“Unfortunately,” Shining mumbled.

“Okay you two, good luck!” he chirped to which he received an irritated glance from the two behind him as he closed the door.

“Hm, maybe Joe’s still open?”

~~~

“Are you sure this will work?”

Four ponies, wearing black raincoats, stood in an alleyway in the city of Canterlot. They directly faced a brick wall, cans of paint and brushes around them. A bag of envelopes was in the grasp of one of them while another was attaching them to the wall. Red, orange, and brown paint formed a figure, but it was now too dark for them to see clearly.

“It will,” a mare’s voice responded while her purple eyes gave the illustration a once-over. “We’ll have some scouts perched by the roof, and they will tell us if someponies stopped by.”

“Do we have specific targets?”

“We have access to some of their records, so…” The mare craned her neck to face the pony, revealing a small smile.

“How about some Royal Guards?”

Comments

[RedChico]

So far very good chapters

[Amos Anon]

To his dismay, it was expired.

...so? If it's still good, no reason you can't eat something past its expiration date.

[Xrevias]

10545037
Yep, but Dusk isn't like that; whether or not it's still good, he'd rather throw it out instead.

[Absentialucci]

Nooooooo....! The pony equivalent of red shirts!
I'm... going to be upset, aren't I? Oh no...
Regardless. Glad we got to see both our specialists kick some flank! The sparring scene with the guard and Scarlet... it was actually really enjoyable to read! Might have to study it... I don't really know how to write pony fight scenes yet... I'm used to human fights.
Hope you don't mind that!
The relationship is still, bloody adorable. I love myself a nice little romantic subplot, it that is indeed the point. If not, these two are some really good friends.
I need to get my own magically enchanted set of clothing that never needs to be washed... I WOULD SAVE SO MANY QUARTERS! I MIGHT JUST ASCEND!
I will leave it at that, as I need to be at work in half an hour, and I need my coffee.
Onward to victory! And... possibly despair...